LeonLouisRicci
A Strong Trio of Actors, Ed Harris, Madeleine Stowe, and Benicio Del Toro are the Force Behind This Fairly Conventional Neo-Noir. What is Lacking is Style. Film Noir and its Modern Evolution Neo-Noir are at Their Best When They Contain an Amount of High-Style to Punch the Plot of Deception, Lust, Etc.In This One , the Story is Pedestrian and the Movie is Virtually Without Much Beyond a Few Night and Rainy Shots that are Certainly Noir's Template. But the Acting is So Strong it Involves from the Beginning and the Audience is Engaged with These Characters. A Twisted Ending is a Bit Heavy Handed and Some of the Important Plot Points Involving Switcheroos are Glossed Over Too Hurriedly and Lose Some Impact. But Overall the Movie is Worth a Watch for the Always Interesting Noir Sensibilities and the Magnetic Actors. It's Mid-Range Neo-Noir, Neither One of the Best Nor One of the Worst.
edwagreen
Ed Harris and Madeleine Stowe light up the screen in this thriller about an intelligent cop who always claims that the murderer messes up. Was that line ever true. Harris begins an affair with Stowe, who is in an abusive marriage with a very effective Charles Dance, who sports a southern drawl amid his misery.When Stowe shoots Dance in self-defense, Harris willingly becomes an accessory by destroying the clues. It seems like the perfect crime is committed until Harris's assistant, a very good Benecio Del Toro, shows that he is much more capable than Harris ever thought. In fact, he is a little too smart.It's at this point that the movie begins to sag. The ironic ending is a bit too much to swallow.
pyenme
A nice little thriller with a twist. Charles Dance wasted again, this time with the most ridiculous Southern accent. I like Ed Harris in just about anything, so he got me through this one. Stowe is good; I have also liked her in other movies where you have to pay attention to the dialog. I have lately discovered that del Toro has been around much longer than I realized - it is nice to see his early work as an indication of the presence he has on-screen. The comparisons to "Body Heat" are understandable - but I think this one stands on its own as one way to spend an evening with a movie that you actually watch to see what happens.
blanche-2
Ed Harris and Madeleine Stowe are underneath the temperamental "China Moon" in this 1994 film also starring Benicio del Toro. Harris and del Toro are Kyle Bodine and Lamar Dickey partner detectives with a Florida police department. One night at a bar, Kyle meets Rachel Munro (Stowe) and falls for her immediately. She's unhappily married and has photos of her husband (Charles Dance) with another woman. He doesn't know this at the time, and tracks her down. They start seeing one another. When her husband winds up dead, Kyle helps her to cover it up.Though the plot is derivative, this is a classily done film with terrific acting, sensual love scenes between the two leads, an easy pace and beautiful photography. It reminded me a little of "Body Heat." The plot won't be hard to figure out, but be prepared for a couple of twists.Ed Harris gives a forceful performance as Kyle, and del Toro is understated as Lamar. When the camera rests on Stowe, she's flawlessly beautiful, and what clothes! She gives an effective performance and has a nice chemistry with Harris."China Moon" is a small, meticulously done movie with loads of talent behind it. The story has been told many times, but somehow, if it's done well, it's always good for another encore.
AD
